"Be Prepared"
Kontiki 2010
On the 5th March, most of Gauteng's top scout troops assembled once again at Murray park in Springs for the annual Kontiki challenge.
Again, with no exception was this years visit by a good rain thundershower on Friday afternoon, but that did not dampen the spirits of any of the Scouts in anyway.
This years theme took us to South America, "in search of the lost city of El Dorado". 1st Eagles again were among the top performing teams coming home in second place overall, taking top honours in Best Raft Contruction, Safety Awareness, Team Spirit and Best Campsite.
Well done to 1st Horison, (our nearest neighbours, and most importantly also from the West Rand District) who narrowly beat us by a mere 20 points (both totals were in the 1700's)
Considering the amount of very young scouts in our team this year, we did extremely well and will be back next year to try again.
Photo's coming soon!
Springbok Awards
1st Eagles troop is once again honoured that some of its scouts, have achieved scoutings top award, the Springbok badge.
In order to earn this badge, these Scouts have shown exceptional determination and leadership over the past years, and have been part of the main backbone behind the continous success within the troop.
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December 2008 - Kewan Bagley and Graeme Leighton
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September 2009 - Melanie Hoenselaar
Well done to all three of you, and we wish you success for the future.
KONTIKI CHAIRMANS CHALLENGE 2009
1st Eagles Rover crew again did the group proud again by winning the adults section of the Kntiki chairmans challenge.
The Scout troop this year, were finally defeated for the first time in 7 years, with Blairgowrie troop taking the top honours and 1st Horison also narrowly beating us. (Well tried anyhow, winning the event for 6 years running will not be matched very easily and we certainly went down trying).
Well done to Blairgowrie for finally defeating us, we will be back nex year to return the favour.
Well done to all who participated for once again doing us very proud.
1st Eagles raft shortly after launch at Kontiki 2008
Welcome
Welcome to the "Eagles Nest" -official home page of the thriving 1st Eagles Scout Group based in Witpoortjie,Roodepoort, on the extreme western side of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa.
We have a Cub Pack (7½ to 11), Scout Troop (11 - 18)and a Rover Crew (18+). If you are a visitor, then why not go and have a look at the "About Us" and "History" sections. This has details about our group. We also have a section on how to join, sections for Cubs and Scouts programme details, an events diary and an active photo gallery, as well as tons of other information.
1st Eagles falls within the West Rand District of the Gauteng Area, which in turn full under the South African Scout Association
These pages have mainly been published as a communication medium for members of our super scout group, but naturally, we always welcome our friends and visitors with open arms.
Please visit our History pages to view the short but proud and successful history of our Scout Group, our photo gallery to view some of the exciting activities we have participated in.
We continually add links to other Scouting related websites as well as links to some of the fascinating places found in the area in which we participate in our Scouting activities. Witpoortjie lies just South of the world famous "Cradle of Humankind", where numerous stone age fossils including that of "Mrs Ples" was discovered
Once again thank you for visiting us and we truely wish you an informative and enjoyable visit
It's about attitude and will power
Eagles are the most long-lived birds in the world. By the time they reach 40 years old, their claws will start to age, losing their effectiveness and making it hard for them to catch preys. The lifespan of an eagle is up to 70 years old. But in order to live this long, it must make the toughest decision at 40.
At 40, its beak is too long and curvy that it reaches its chest. Its wings, full of long, thickened feathers, are too heavy for easy flying.
The eagle is left with 2 choices - do nothing and await its death or go through a painful period of transformation and renewal.
For 150 days, it first trains itself to fly beyond the highest
mountains, build and live in its nest and cease all flying activities.
It then begins to knock its beak against granite rocks till the beak is completely removed. When a new beak is grown, the eagle will use it to remove all its old claws and wait quietly for new ones to be fully-grown. When the new claws are fully grown, the eagle will use them to remove all its feathers, one by one. Five months later, when its new feathers are fully grown, it will soar in the sky again with renewed
strength and is able to live for the next 30 years.
In life, as an individual, even in an organization, sometimes, we have to learn to make difficult decisions so as to make room for changes.
Changes bring about renewal. And the only way for us to soar again is to let go old ways, old habits, and old lives. For as long as we are prepared to put aside our old baggage - past glory or shame, past success or failure - be willing to become zero, with an empty cup mentality, we will be able to discover our potential and head towards a renewed perspective in any aspect of our lives.
And the journey of renewal will be painful and it requires an attitude of 5 words - I WANT, I AM WILLING .
Be bold, be strong and soar like an eagle.....!!!